Still Improving: ADE Releases 2011-12 Test Scores

On Monday, July 30th, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), on its web site, released the results from the 2011-2012 statewide administration of the Arkansas Benchmark, End-of-Course (EOC), and norm-referenced Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). On all three exams, Arkansas students showed improved performance from the previous academic year. Here at the OEP, we have spent the past two days organizing the raw data from the ADE, and creating school- and district-level databases with test performance on each exam. Here is what we have to offer on the OEP Arkansas Data Page:

The Arkansas Benchmark exam is the state’s criterion-referenced exam (CRT) administered each spring to grades 3-8, intended to measure knowledge proficiency according to the Arkansas curricular standards. For example, on this year’s benchmark exams, the fraction of students scoring proficient or advanced on the mathematics assessment increased one percentage point from last year to 78%. However, it was the performance in literacy this year that was an eye-opener. In the previous year, 75% of test takers scored at the proficient or advanced level…but in the most recent year, that performance indicator grew by six percentage points to 81%! That is a substantial one-year gain. In fact, Arkansas students have not had an annual gain that large since the 2005-06 academic year when they grew seven percentage points in literacy over the previous year.

Percent Scoring Proficient or Advanced on the Arkansas Benchmark Exams in Math and Literacy, Select Years